Dangerous launching at 3rd

[HelmKites3rd]

Wow! Did he say were he learned to kite?

I got in more trouble than I need as it is by "naming names" on another thread, but I did ask him and it was a local "refresher lesson".

I'm a little torn about holding schools accountable for everything that newbies do once they go out on their own, but at same time we will get to a point where we either become... shall we say, cranky like the SoCal or worse off, lose our beaches to "regulated access" like FL, Chicago etc.

That said, some schools are quite... hands-off once the paid time is up (and even during...) , not to mention advertising "2hr learn to kite lesson", putting 6 "never-evers" in a group lesson or letting beginners land by themselves at Sherman after a "downwinder". Surely, not everyone will learn to kite, but there is a red albeit fine line between laissez-faire and recklessness, even if you run a business.

Also we should acknowledge that schools have their own objective challenges, partly self-inflicted (e.g. irrational competition, incl. through pricing), partly objective (e.g. not a business with great economics, serious shortage of instructors etc.)

I am all for a union of schools that set an standard at 3rd, or other bay area kite spots, but does anyone want to form this union? or perhaps take it a step further and have people TESTED like the DMV does for driving or the FAA does for flight?

There is NO oversight and even IKO and other kitesurfing websites may or may not list instructors due to insurance or other reasons. With so many people upset about such a small sport, it is difficult to assign one school that "gives 2 hr intro kite lessons" or another that does "land lessons only" when everyone just wants to have INSTANT GRATIFICATION!

The internet is making it very easy for untrained yahoos to go buy a kite off craigslist and go kill themselves. BUT, the burden is on the SELLER of those said products.

The BURDEN is also on EVERY SCHOOL, not just ours, or the ones up in the Delta, nor the ones in Texas, Mexico, or Brazil. IT IS A BURDEN ON EVERY SCHOOL TO TRAIN EVERY STUDENT TO THE BEST ABILITY PRIOR TO GOING OUT FOR THEIR FIRST SESSION.

If this thread is such a hot topic, why do we not print all this out and make a collaborative effort to assign distinct missions for each school, and perhaps gain more public trust.

i feel that the public kitesurfing community has grown SMALLER in recent years and there are LESS people getting into an OVER SATURATED SPORT. 3rd ave is a GREAT VENUE.

However, there are more and more "strangers" that show up out there and have the wrong gear or just do not know what their power lines do versus their steering lines, or even what a kite leash is for that fact.

So ask yourself this question: How can I HELP?

Greg Stupplebeen
Helm of Sun Valley
333 North Amphlett Blvd
San Mateo, CA
94401
650-344-2711

[baypirate]

There is always someone there to help, just give a smile and lend a hand! This "cluelessness" to "assholeness" is nothing more than some middle-school BS that I will not stand for.

Middle-school is kind of far back, so no great surprise I don't seem to remember hauling in then as many boards, kites and kiters as I (and a handful of others) have been doing over last season and this one at 3rd.

I won't bother anymore, but I'll spell it out for the back seats: my point is the rate of change in the incidence of dangerously incompetent kiting we've seen of late.

[MehYam]

Part 1 of the problem with this sport is that there's no equivalent of bunny slope. You have to suit up, gear up, and launch from the same place experienced people do. If the conditions are "double black diamond" (high gusts, or shifty, or a little offshore, etc), it's that way for everybody, and it's hard to just sit on the beach and say "not worth it today" when you see other people out there riding.

Part 2 is that there are a million different things you have to remember and worry about as a new kiter, but only a small fraction of those will be relevant at any particular time. Here's a typical mental rundown while I'm setting up a session:

- current wind strength & direction.
- forecast. Do I trust it.
- tide direction?
- which kite?
- which board?
- which leashing method?
- are my lines in good shape, are the front lines getting too stretched?
- is my knife with me and in good shape?
- are the bridle/attachment points on my kite looking good?
- how's the air pressure? Bladders holding pressure?
- am I setting up the kite out of other people's way?
- did I rig correctly? Leash set up the right way?
- trim strap pulled in favoring depower during launch?
- how's my launch angle?
- oh shit did I lock my car...
- crap wind changed now I'll be over/underpowered, should I re-rig?
- k fine, 3 people are launching, 2 people are landing... is now good?
- do I trust this guy to not throw my kite?
- do I know how to release should things fuck up? Remember how to?
- how would I wrap and self-rescue on this particular kite again?

It's information overload, and we're not on the water yet. Forgetting or making a bad call on any one of those points can lead to a kitemare... or, as with driving rules, you may not be affected at all by a mistake, so bad habits can get ingrained.

I feel like there should be a simple handbook, like the state driving/road rules manual. Maybe just a laminated "make sure you understand these things" card, that's like our 10 commandments. You could walk up to someone and say "hey, which commandment you breaking there", and if they don't know what you're talking about, there's your starting point.

[Greg]

Back in 99, I was shown (by a guy selling a used kite out of the trunk of his car) how to launch and land my first kite. The "lesson" took place on the sand in So-Cal and lasted less then 10 minutes. After Traig finished SHOWING ME how it worked, I was given this sound advice, "Stay away from people" and "Only launch in light wind until you've really got the hang of it", he finished with "Have FUN!!!" and took off-
L.M.G.

[dz]

Just an idea : How about having a 2 people run something like a weekly "Sat morning Clinic" for newbies.

Maybe charge like $20 to each student,
& tell them to bring their gear.

2 hours : launching and landing, aspects of safety, self rescue,
and go over each person's gear and safety systems,
& things particular to the spot.

Then all the beginners could be asked to take the clinic before riding at 3rd.

(Not sure about the legalities of charging/running a business on the beach--and maybe that has to be worked out w the other businesses, but $20 or so would not exclude anyone, and I think it's a good idea to charge).

NOTE : The clinic then is meant as a supplement (not a substitute) to taking lessons, so actually it will be mostly a review. But, in the case the students missed something in the lesson, or maybe it's been a while, or they learned somewhere else, etc. they will still get a proper orientation.

[mjwarne]

Seeing as I started this thread off I thought I'd chime in with my own experience as a newbie as it is probably pretty similar to a lot of others and could definitely be done a lot better.

I took a set of lessons which for pretty much the whole time were out on open water on a kite that had been rigged for me. We did cover launching from land once but that was the very 1st lesson.

I then go onto Craigslist, buy a set of kitesurfing gear from another newbie who had given up, and turn up at Alameda 1 windy Saturday armed and dangerous with my new kite.

So I'm basically in a crowded launch site with a kite that I'd never launched before with only theoretical experience of launching myself. Learning how to do it properly was then a process of trial and error. Fortunately the errors weren't too bad so nobody got hurt but there were plenty of errors.

So how could this be improved?

1. The end of every kitesurfing course should finish rather than start with how to launch from the land as that's the 1st skill you will need before you can get out on the water.
2. Offering some kind of clinic on the beach where someone experienced helps the newbie launch their own kite for the 1st time and gives them the sort of pointers that are in this thread.
3. In the absence of 2 then the instructor should really emphasize the dangers of launching so as a newbie I know to grab someone experienced at the launch site, explain the situation and get them to give them pointers on how to launch.

In my experience with the sport so far pretty much everyone I have come across has been really helpful when asked and quite a few helpful when not asked so I'm sure if the newbie came asking for help first things would be much safer.

[Thor29]

The first couple of times I tried to fly my own kite at Alameda, I made sure to tell the person that launched my kite that I was a beginner. For one of those initial launches, a 2nd guy volunteered to stand next to me and make sure I got it right. Since you (usually) only launch once per session, it takes a few sessions before you get reasonably competent.

I think that 2nd guy is a really good idea. So here's my suggestion:

Newbies: when launching for the first several times, ask for a helper.
Experienced kiters: when launching a newbie, grab another experienced kiter and have him stand next to the newbie for assistance. It's really hard for the guy launching the kite to communicate with the kiter from that distance and if something goes wrong, the assistant can grab the kiter or at least make sure he ejects properly.

[espguitarist]

Just an idea : How about having a 2 people run something like a weekly "Sat morning Clinic" for newbies.

Maybe charge like $20 to each student,
& tell them to bring their gear.

2 hours : launching and landing, aspects of safety, self rescue,
and go over each person's gear and safety systems,
& things particular to the spot.

Then all the beginners could be asked to take the clinic before riding at 3rd.

(Not sure about the legalities of charging/running a business on the beach--and maybe that has to be worked out w the other businesses, but $20 or so would not exclude anyone, and I think it's a good idea to charge).

NOTE : The clinic then is meant as a supplement (not a substitute) to taking lessons, so actually it will be mostly a review. But, in the case the students missed something in the lesson, or maybe it's been a while, or they learned somewhere else, etc. they will still get a proper orientation.

I'll take you up on that. I'm a beginner and so far I've taken three lessons at 3rd Avenue. I'm still not comfortable going out on my own, as someone said above the instructors pretty much set everything up for us and take us out on the jetski to launch. Safety is my main concern, I want to make sure I don't hurt myself or anyone else. I'll probably take one more lesson though, I still haven't been able to stand up on the board for more than two seconds lol. But once I get that down I want to be able to launch/land safely, which I think has been something overlooked in the lessons.

[dz]

My opinion, but if you can't stand up, or go up wind with some consistency, then you are not really ready for 3rd. I suggest going to Alameda, & doing an assisted downwinder at Sherman. Even if the wind is too light to ride at Alameda, often you can still go to do some body dragging and self rescue.

[MehYam]

My opinion, but if you can't stand up, or go up wind with some consistency, then you are not really ready for 3rd.

That's probably generally true, but I think it's really just confidence in launching, body dragging, and self-rescue that you need to be safe at 3rd. Not staying upwind (or even on your board for long) just means you'll have to contend with the rocky shore, which is an eventuality at 3rd anyway.

So yeah, I'd go with a couple of Alameda sessions to make sure you're comfortable with launch + drag + rescue, then see how you feel. Your first session at 3rd should not be at high tide.